A new Mastercard survey showed that intra-regional travel has become more popular in the Middle East than destination further away due to the global economic downturn. Survey respondents were asked about their likely travel destinations in the next six months, and chose six intra-regional destinations out of a total of ten top destinations. Egypt and the UAE were the most popular choices for UAE respondents at 27 percent and 19 percent respectively, while Egypt and India were both favored by 21 percent, Lebanon (20 percent) and Turkey (19 percent).
MasterCard area business head for the Gulf countries said intra-regional destinations have become more popular because consumers want to take advantage of less expensive travel options following the economic recession. Raghu Malhotra said “With connectivity among key tourist destinations within the Middle East becoming stronger, as well as the frequent airline promotions, consumers have become inclined to explore destinations closer to home.”
Address: inside the Abbasi Hotel, Chahar Bagh Avenue Timings: 9am to 5pm The Abbasi Hotel houses a splendid museum that displays some of the most beautifully restored specimens of the Holy Quran. The samples are done in a variety of calligraphic styles, including the popular Nakshi, Kufic, and Mohaqqiq, and exhibit the changes that occurred in the fonts as time passed. A Special section ...
The power of the Ottoman Empire was largely based on war and conquest. The military was its most important institution. The Istanbul Military Museum puts that on display. The museum originally opened in 1950 and housed in an old church. In 1993, it moved to its current location in the old Ottoman imperial military academy. As one would expect from a military museum, it...
Address: 24 Zenkov Street, Almaty Phone: (3272) 91 63 26 Designed by Zenkov in 1908, this wooden structure was formerly used as a meeting venue fo...
Located on the manmade Île des Cygnes (Isle of Swans), this is a 1/5 scale replica of the original in New York. It is the largest of three replicas of the Statue of Liberty in Paris. The others are in the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Musée des Arts et Métiers. Metro: Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel (RER C), Bir-Hakeem (6) ...